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New York City, Northern NJ, Long Island, Southeast NY, Connecticut OBS

earthlight

By earthlight,
in New York City Metro

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Isotherm

Isotherm

Posted
Posted

I posted this in your guys picture thread, but maybe it goes better here.

I can't believe so many people are complaining about their streets not being plowed yet. It only stopped snowing yesterday morning. I agree with whoever said you need to remember what a blizzard is. There is a reason the Red Cross and Dept. of Homeland Security urge everyone to have a supply of food and water for up to 5 days incase of winter or other emergency. Last year, in Washington, some streets went unplowed for a week.

You all further north may have a bit more equipment or organization to handle it then we do, but it's still unrealistic to be complaining about not seeing a snow plow yet. In fact, I lived in some areas that got mulitple feet of lake-effect snow ever year. And even there, the streets would usually be a mess after a 20-inch snowstorm. First of all, there is simply no where to put the snow in a city. Once you hit about 16 to 18 inches, it becomes very hard to move it all around and the plows just basically shift it back and forth so it really needs to be scooped up and hauled away.

There is no city in the world where all streets can be plowed less than a day after a 2 foot snowstorm. Trust me. What is the point of getting a blizzard, if you just fret about when you are going to be able to get in your car again.

However, from afar, it does seem that New York and Bloomberg were a bit unprepared for this. I see no reason for all those buses and taxi's getting stuck, and the above ground trains get stranded. When a blizzard is in the forecast, it seems most prudent to do what D.C. does - shut down bus service, tell the cabbies to stay home, and close above ground subway service before they get stranded. Because, once the buses get stuck, how do you expect the plows to get through?

To be honest with you, a whole 24 hours of unplowed streets is a very, very long time. Speaking for my area of central NJ, roads are pretty much good to go 2-3 hours after the snow has ended. Side streets will still be slippery and often snow covered but overall definitely drivable. This event was not a "regular" historic storm (I know, a bit of an oxymoron) with the impact being far worse afterwards than 18"+ events like Dec 03, Jan 05, Feb 06, and all 4 major storms in the 2009-10 winter. We've seen nothing like this since the blizzard of 1996 in terms of shutting everything down, etc. This is the first time I remember the mail not coming for two consecutive days (heck, it usually comes in most of the major storms), and to shut down the NJ state government for a day is historic. I'm not complaining or anything, in fact I love it, and the people around me can't see why (Lol).

It's all relative. I have a friend in Raleigh NC who couldn't go anywhere for about 5 days after the 15" storm they had a decade ago. I actually argue the snow crews would be better around the NJ/NY area than Lake-effect regions due to the enormous population difference. There's just such an intense pressure for everyone to be back on their feet and in work immediately after a storm is over. I don't think the lack of resilience with this event has much to do w/ budgets, cuts on crews etc, but moreso the magnitude of the blizzard itself. Speaking for here again, we had 2-3"/hr rates for 6-9 hours with 40mph wind gusts. That's a recipe for disaster and it's impossible to keep up with.

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psv88

psv88

Posted
Posted

FWIW the roads in nassau county are atrocious as well...right now sitting in garden city its a nightmare...people also driving like morons, heard penninsula blvd was terrible too...The best plowing on main roads has to be suffolk county. When i loved in huntington last year, the roads were pretty clear right after the storms, when we got 3 huge storms.

I dont get why the roads are still so bad here...it hasnt snowed for 36 hours now...waiting in the office for the traffic jam to clear up before i head home

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Sock Puppet

Sock Puppet

Posted
Posted

I can find plenty of parking outside my building so I have no need for an extra expense. Pay for my parking if you want me to use the garage or STFU

And you're complaining? Are you serious? If I could get a parking spot for $150/mo I'd be ecstatic and I only need it for 10 hours a day 5 days a week. What kind of time do you spend each month moving your car around and sweating the alternate side stuff? That has to be worth more than $150/mo.

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Sock Puppet

Sock Puppet

Posted
Posted

Well to start I can try to get photos of it and put it out there for others to see. I don't believe anything will come from going to meetings since this mayor does not give a s**t, case in point he press conferences post storm

Maybe the chief of the sanitation dept lived on that street? :D

The best I can tell you is this. If you want your voice heard, go to a town hall meeting. Ask questions. Do what is necessary to get your voice heard. Maybe even run for office. If not, all you are doing is complaining and nothing will ever come of it.

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psv88

psv88

Posted
Posted

Had no problems. in fact by yesterday the roads were in great shape.

do you think it is because the town hires private contractors to do a lot of plowing? As in, locals who just have plows to throw on their trucks and clean the roads, rather than the city which has workers coming from all over the place to get to trucks?

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Sundog

Sundog

Posted
Posted

Plenty familiar with the area. I have lived in Corona, Forest Hills, and Fresh Meadows for a total of 10 years. I still have lots of family and friends in and around Flushing and I'm there just about every week. I know what it looks like. LOL.

Have you ever gone to the garage on Main St? It's more than a covered shopping garage. Yes, the Muni lot is not a garage, but it's covered and free on Sundays, just like the streets.

If you're familiar with the area then you know I can't park by Main Street and walk all the way to ten blocks from the Clearview Golf Course. There no garages outside the transportation hub that is Main st. I live no where near that.

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tmagan

tmagan

Posted
Posted

do you think it is because the town hires private contractors to do a lot of plowing? As in, locals who just have plows to throw on their trucks and clean the roads, rather than the city which has workers coming from all over the place to get to trucks?

Yes, in fact my street was plowed by a landscaping truck. I also said earlier I bet another problem in the city is that many people are on holiday break and are not available.

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Sock Puppet

Sock Puppet

Posted
Posted

I can understand that but there is no excuse for plowing main routes especially where transit buses drive so people can at least go to work, shop and just get out for a bit

Yes, in fact my street was plowed by a landscaping truck. I also said earlier I bet another problem in the city is that many people are on holiday break and are not available.

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SnowGoose69

SnowGoose69

Posted
Posted

Not to pin Bloomberg's or whoever's mess on the HPC, but part of the issues related to slow response/stuck buses and cars maybe be could partly attributed to not enough lead up time, warning, about the storm. Maybe if the city had another two or three days to prepare, it would have been better coordinated. I thought I read somewhere they were scrambling XMAS day to find plow drivers cause many regular ones were out of town on vacation.

This brings me back to this point. Remember XMAS eve when the 12z GFS came out showing New York would get nailed. We all were getting a bit worked up over it, but HPC kept insisting it was potentially bad data and didn't seem to believe it. I think it took until the 00z runs on XMAS day before they came on board, and watches did not go up until sometime that night, if I recall correctly.

I wonder if that initial 12z GFS run hadn't been dismissed, perhaps everyone would have had an extra 12 hours to get ready.

There was a job posting for a NYCDOT meteorologist about 2 years back, you'd figure they'd have someone competent who may have warned them a week out of the potential.

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ict1523

ict1523

Posted
Posted

I had to take the bus to work this morning because my street was still not touched by a plow and is impassable. It took me 2.5 hours to get from Kew Gardens to Bayside. Main roads like Jewel Avenue were still not plowed by 11AM this morning and many side streets had 6-10' mounds of snow blocking them.

Coming back an hour ago, got a ride from a friend with a 4X4 Explorer. Tons of side streets in Bayside have not been touched by plows and as of midnight, my street hasn't been touched by a plow either.

I would have a little more sympathy if I felt the sanitation department was actually making an organized effort to clear the streets however while waiting for the Q10 this morning (ended up walking), I saw about 10 plows go up and down Lefferts Blvd, a road that was plowed and had little to no snow on it. None of these plows bothered to move to any other road, not even Metropolitan Avenue, which this morning was still snow covered. Why did an already cleared Lefferts Blvd have to be cleared 10 more times? Same thing with Bell Blvd by my job. Several plows on that road but none touching the side streets. A bit absurd.

Have to go to Philly tomorrow, so I'm going to at least make an attempt to get my car out. If I get stuck, $10 Chinatown bus will be my solution.

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Dark Star

Dark Star

Posted
Posted

Wasn't there a blown temperature forecast last night? On Tuesday morning, they were forecasting temps in the lower 20's for Wednesday morning. That was missed by about 10 degrees!. Any explanations? The temperature also rose before sunrise on Tuesday. Tonight the forecast is for a low near 20. Do you think that is accurate?

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Stormlover74

Stormlover74

Posted
Posted

Monday night and tuesday nights were both warmer than forecast by at least 5 degrees. I did notice some places dropped last evening when winds went calm but quickly rose after midnight. The GFS is ridiculously cold tonight with low teens in the cities. I know in the past models would underestimate the effects of a fresh snowpack under clear skies but it seems like those days are gone.

Wasn't there a blown temperature forecast last night? On Tuesday morning, they were forecasting temps in the lower 20's for Wednesday morning. That was missed by about 10 degrees!. Any explanations? The temperature also rose before sunrise on Tuesday. Tonight the forecast is for a low near 20. Do you think that is accurate?

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A-L-E-X

A-L-E-X

Posted
Posted

Nice snowfall total map prepared by the NWS Upton for 12/26/10 event...appears only areas in OKX CWA that were screwed were New London and Middlesex County, CT and the North Fork of L.I....one of my colleagues from work lives out there...said she got maybe half a foot.

http://www.erh.noaa....rm12262010.html

yay, my report is in there ;)

Didnt they guy from Orient say he got 10"?

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A-L-E-X

A-L-E-X

Posted
Posted

It's business as usual as Bloomberg said so let's just fantasies of being at the beach in 90 degree weather... but yeah, in reality when buses are blocking the streets 36 hours after the snow stopped I'd say it's pretty bad

Im glad the media really put Bloomberg's feet to the fire. And the MTA commissioner also. Did you know they said theyre going through with a fare hike tomorrow? This guy is a THIEF he steals our money and uses it to fatten his wallet (numerous media exposes have caught him red handed) -- NYC is going back to the days when Boss Tweed ruled. This is why the MTA needs to be dissolved.

Bloomberg said he will have the roads plowed by tomorrow-- he was getting very defensive lol. It wasnt just the fact that some of the roads werent plowed-- according to residents (and media witnessed this) NONE of the roads in Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island started getting plowed until TODAY !

Oh, did you hear about the 911 Operator who told the pregnant mother her going into labor wasnt important enough for them to respond to? Her baby was still born :( Three deaths in NYC so far because of EMS failure.

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